N.H. Driving Teacher Fired for DWI Arrest

[Rose Siding]

CONCORD, N.H. -- An uncertified high school driving instructor previously convicted of drunken driving was arrested after his vehicle ran off the road as he was headed to teach a driving class, officials said.

Arthur Desmeules, 66, faces several charges stemming from the Nov. 22 incident, including drunken driving. The Nashua School District fired him last week.
.....
He had taught driving to students in the district for 35 years. His certification to teach lapsed in September but he continued to conduct classes, officials said.

Desmeules' license was suspended for 90 days in 2003 following the drunken driving conviction. School officials said he hid the conviction from them, but refrained from teaching the road portion of his course during the suspension, blaming eye problems.

School officials have complained that the state Division of Motor Vehicles failed to inform them of the conviction until last week.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-driver-ed-dwi,0,581096.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[Tab]

1. Yes

I live in NH and this has been in the news the last month.

He ran into a pole or something on the way to give some driving lessons and got busted, and also hid the conviction by saying he had a condition making him sensitive to light, so he got his colleagues to do the road lessons and he would just do the classroom lessons, but it all fell apart.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. So I take it

he is NOT a highly qualified teacher under NCLB guidelines?

[vpigrad]

3. WTF does the fact that he drinks...

have to do with his ability to teach? The Jesus-freaks are trying to turn this country back into the hell that the puritan Massachusetts was.

[msgadget]

5. Uh...a lot! (eom)

[HawkerHurricane]

6. Nothing.

The fact that he drinks, drives, runs into things, and then hides it (when no doubt his contract has a disclosure aggreement about such things) does.

Although I do aggree with your comment about the Jesus Freaks. Except that I wish that we could come up with a name for the Freaks that doesn't associate them with Jesus.

[melnjones]

7. an awful lot if

he is drinking before classes in which he will have to supervise student drivers. Not sure how that merited the jesus-freak comment...

[keopeli]

4. Doesn't * have a DWI from NH? If he can run the country, why can't this

guy teach a driving class?

[stella2cat]

8. I think it was, plus he was stealing a christmas tree n/t

[TolstoyAndy]

11. I think Chimpy's DWI is in ME n/t

[Tab]

12. Not only that

But it was most likely at least a second offense.



They don't give two year suspensions for first offenses, even back then. 60 or 90 days min. To get two years he'd have to be at least on a second offense, if not a third.

[booksenkatz]

9. Our preznit had a DWI and is running our country off the road.

And he still has his job.

What a world, what a world.

edit:
Note to self: read all posts in thread before hitting reply.

[soothsayer]

10. If anyone has cause to drink,it's a driving teacher!

But..don't drink and drive, kids!